Detroit Pistons Blog – Page 21 – NBA Blog

Pistons sign rookie Bruce Brown Jr

The Pistons yesterday signed rookie guard Bruce Brown Jr.

Brown, 6-5, 202, was selected 42nd overall in the 2018 NBA Draft after averaging 11.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists last season for the University of Miami (Fla.). A 2017-18 Preseason All-ACC Second Team selection, Brown was also a 2017-18 Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 and was on the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year watch List.

A native of Boston, MA, Brown averaged 11.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 52 career games for the Hurricanes. As a freshman, he scored a career-high 30 points against eventual national champion North Carolina. He also recorded two of the three triple-doubles in Miami program history.

Pistons sign Jose Calderon and Glenn Robinson III

The Detroit Pistons yesterday signed free agent guard Jose Calderon and free agent forward Glenn Robinson III.

Calderon, a 13-year NBA veteran, returns for his second stint as a Piston. The 6-3, 200-pound guard played in 28 games for the Pistons during the 2012-13 season after he was acquired from the Toronto Raptors in a three-team trade which saw the Pistons send Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye to Memphis and the Grizzlies trade Rudy Gay and Hamed Haddadi to the Toronto Raptors. Calderon averaged 11.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists for the Pistons.

A native of Spain, Calderon spent last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers where he appeared in 57 games and averaged 4.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists and helped the Cavaliers reach the NBA Finals. In 846 career NBA games, he has averaged 9.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists with Toronto, Detroit, Dallas, New York, L.A. Lakers, Atlanta and Cleveland. He’s also appeared in 37 career playoff games averaging 7.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

A two-time Olympic silver medalist with Spain’s national team, Calderon won medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China and at the 2012 Games in London, England.

Robinson III, 6-6, 222, played the last three seasons with the Indiana Pacers. In four NBA seasons, the Gary, IN native has averaged 4.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 172 career games with Minnesota, Philadelphia and Indiana.

Drafted 40th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Timberwolves, the 2017 NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner, played collegiately at the University of Michigan for two seasons. He averaged 12.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 76 career games and helped the Wolverines reach two NCAA Tournaments, including the 2013 NCAA National Title Game and 2014 NCAA Elite Eight.

Pistons add Sidney Lowe, Sean Sweeney and DJ Bakker to coaching staff

The Detroit Pistons yesterday hired Sidney Lowe and Sean Sweeney as assistant coaches.

Additionally, DJ Bakker has been added to the basketball operations staff as a player development coach.

Lowe returns to the Detroit Pistons for the third time during his basketball coaching and playing career. He spent the 2005-06 season as lead assistant to head coach Flip Saunders and played six games for the Pistons as a point guard on the 1984-85 squad. The Washington, DC, native and former NBA point guard has spent eight years as a head coach and 12 years as an assistant coach in the NBA and NCAA, most recently serving as an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards the last two seasons. Lowe began his coaching career in 1992, when he became an assistant coach under then-head coach Jimmy Rodgers, eventually being promoted to head coach midway through the 1992-93 season and remaining in the position through the 1993-94 season. In addition, Lowe served three seasons (2011-14) as an assistant with the Utah Jazz after previously serving as head coach at his alma mater, North Carolina State (2006-11). In his first season at NC State, he became the third coach in school history to win 20 games and defeat the three other ACC North Carolina institutions (North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest).

As a player, Lowe was originally selected by the Chicago Bulls with the first pick of the second round (25th overall) in the 1983 NBA Draft and spent time with Indiana, Detroit and Atlanta. He also spent time in the Continental Basketball Association, leading the Albany Patroons and Tampa Bay Thrillers to CBA titles. Lowe played college basketball under the late Jim Valvano at North Carolina State, earning Final Four All-Tournament honors while helping lead the Wolfpack to the 1983 NCAA Championship.

Sweeney enters his first season with the Pistons after spending the last four seasons as an assistant coach with Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks squads from 2014-18. The St. Paul native entered the NBA assistant coaching ranks with Kidd as part of this 2013-14 Brooklyn Nets team after serving two season as the Nets’ assistant video coordinator. Before joining the Nets, Sweeney served as video coordinator for the University of Northern Iowa, and previously held the position of director of basketball operations for the University of Evansville. Sweeney played one season at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay before transferring to the University of St. Thomas where he was a three-year starter and earned all-conference honors as a senior in 2005-06.

Bakker served as a member of Dwane Casey’s basketball staff in Toronto the last two seasons as assistant video coordinator and will join the Pistons as a player development coach.

Pistons hire Malik Rose as assistant GM

The Detroit Pistons announced today that Malik Rose has been named assistant general manager.

“We are pleased to welcome Malik Rose to the Detroit Pistons organization,” said Ed Stefanski, Special Advisor to owner Tom Gores. “Malik has been around successful teams throughout his NBA playing career and now, as a young executive, he brings great basketball knowledge from both a playing and administrative perspective. His engaging and collaborative spirit fits perfectly with the basketball operations staff we are looking to construct.”

Rose has spent the last three seasons with the Atlanta Hawks as their manager of basketball operations. He also served as general manager for the club’s NBA G-League affiliate – the Erie BayHawks.

The 13-year NBA veteran appeared in 813 regular season games with the Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder where he averaged 6.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game. The Philadelphia native was drafted by Charlotte in the second round (44th overall) of the 1996 NBA Draft. He signed as a free agent with San Antonio in 1997 and was traded to New York in 2005. Rose finished his career with Oklahoma City in 2009. He appeared in 82 playoff games, recording averages of 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game and won NBA Championships with the Spurs in 1999 and 2003.

After retiring from the NBA, Rose worked as a television analyst for the Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Austin Toros of the NBA G-League, NBA TV and NBA Radio from 2010-2015.

Rose played collegiately at Drexel University from 1992-96 where he earned degrees in computer information systems and education with a mathematics certification. He also owns a Master’s degree in sports management.

Pistons to hire Dwane Casey as head coach

The Detroit Pistons announced today an agreement with Dwane Casey to join the organization as Head Coach. Casey, who will be formally introduced at a news conference in Detroit next week, is expected to start immediately with player meetings and staff development starting this week.

“Dwane is one of the most successful and highly respected coaches in our league,” said Pistons Owner Tom Gores. “He’s a great communicator and a leader who will connect with our players and accelerate their growth. Having spent many hours with Dwane over the last few weeks, I’m confident he is the right person to get us to the next level.

“In our meetings he displayed great insight into what this roster can accomplish, and great passion about our city and the team’s role in bringing people together,” Mr. Gores said. “He’s an outstanding man with impressive character. He embodies our culture and will be a great representative for our franchise.”

Mr. Casey, who led the Toronto Raptors to 59 wins in the most recently completed season, is a finalist for the NBA’s 2018 Coach of the Year Award, which will presented on June 25 at the league’s awards dinner in Los Angeles. Last month, he was named the Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association.

“I am excited and honored to join the Detroit Pistons, a franchise with a championship history and a roster that is ready to win now,” Mr. Casey said. “Tom really won me over with his vision for the team and the city. He clearly wants to deliver for the fans in Detroit and I believe in the strength of his leadership to do so.

“I’m confident that this team has the pieces in place to compete at a very high level,” Mr. Casey added. “There is a lot of talent, a solid core and some exciting young players eager to get better. We’re getting to work right away on the things that will make us all successful.”

Casey, 61, has served as a head coach, associate head coach or assistant coach in the NBA for 23 of the past 24 years. He has coached in two NBA Finals (1996 and 2011) and three NBA All-Star games (1996, 1998 and 2018).

Casey most recently served as head coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2011-2018 where he compiled a 320-238 (.573) regular-season record and led the Raptors to a franchise-record five consecutive playoff appearances, including a trip to the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals. The all-time winningest coach in Raptors history, Casey led Toronto to the franchise’s first 50-win season in 2015-16, recorded 50-plus wins in each of the last three seasons and posted a franchise-record 59 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference in 2017-18. Toronto won four Atlantic Division titles during Casey’s tenure. He was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month five times, and last February, became the first coach in Raptors history to be selected to coach in the NBA All-Star game.

Prior to his appointment with Toronto, he served as head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2005-07. Casey’s 2005-06 squad finished in the NBA’s top 10 in fewest average points per game and lowest opponent field goal percentage.

Casey began his NBA career as an assistant coach with the Seattle Supersonics where he served from 1994-2005 under NBA head coaches George Karl, Paul Westphal and Nate McMillan. Promoted to associate head coach in November 2000, nine of his teams in Seattle finished above .500 with five winning 50 or more games. The 1996 squad won the Western Conference Championship after finishing the regular season with a franchise record 64 victories.

He also spent three seasons (2008-11) as an assistant with Dallas under Rick Carlisle where he directed the club’s defense and helped lead the Mavericks to the 2011 NBA Championship. Dallas posted a 162-84 (.659) mark during that span, winning 50 or more games in each of his three seasons with the team. His defensive unit held opponents to 96.0 points per game (6th in the NBA) and .450 percent shooting from the field (8th in the NBA) during the 2010-11 regular season.

In 14 seasons as an NBA assistant, Casey’s teams registered a 689-427 (.617) mark with eight campaigns of 50 or more wins. His teams qualified for the playoffs in 11 of those 14 seasons.

Prior to the NBA, Casey spent five seasons as a head coach in the Japanese Basketball League and worked with the Japanese national team. In the summer of 1998, he helped to guide Japan to its first appearance in the FIBA World Championship, which marked a first for Japan in over 30 years.

A native of Morganfield, KY, Casey played collegiately at the University of Kentucky. During his junior season, the Wildcats amassed 30-2 record and captured the 1978 NCAA Championship. As a senior, he was named team captain and won Kentucky’s all-academic award.

Dwane Casey might become next Pistons coach

Will former Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, recently let go by the team after years of success, become the next head coach of the Pistons? Maybe. Here’s Michigan Live with an update:

After dropping a strong hint Friday on ESPN’s First Take that he will be coaching the Detroit Pistons, Dwane Casey tapped the brakes a bit shortly after on another of the network’s shows.

Casey, appearing on The Jump with Rachel Nichols, said nothing is finalized with the Pistons but spoke glowingly of the organization and praised the roster.

“I had a couple of great meetings, one with the management, with Ed Stefanski, who’s a great GM, a great guy, he’s a main reason why the job is appealing, along with (Blake Griffin) and also Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson,” Casey told Nichols.

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Derrick Williams participates in Pistons mini-camp

Team mini-camps are typically for free agents who haven’t really proven themselves in the NBA yet. There are exceptions, of course. But generally, if you’ve been in the league for a while, having to participate in a free agent mini-camp isn’t a positive sign. Here’s Michigan Live reporting on the Pistons and Derrick Williams:

Seven years after being the second overall selection in the NBA draft, Derrick Williams participated this week in Detroit Pistons free-agent mini-camp, trying to work his way back into the league.

He worked out with 17 others at the Pistons practice facility, most with no NBA experience, several who played for the G League Grand Rapids Drive this past season.

It might have humbling for the 2010-11 Pac 10 player of the year at Arizona, a someone who the Minnesota Timberwolves took one pick after Kyrie Irving, ahead of players such as Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker and Isaiah Thomas.

But it’s part of the process that Williams hopes will lead to a free-agent contract or at least a training camp tryout with a team.

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Detroit Pistons hire Ed Stefanski

Detroit Pistons Owner Tom Gores announced today the hiring of Ed Stefanski as a senior executive reporting directly to Mr. Gores with responsibility for helping reshape the team’s basketball operations infrastructure and strategy.

In this new role, Mr. Stefanski will assist in the searches now underway for a new head coach and new head of basketball operations; conduct a broad review of the existing structure in which the two jobs were previously combined; recommend enhancements and improvements to that structure; and act as a long-term strategic adviser to Mr. Gores and the Pistons’ ownership team.

His contract has a three-year term.

Mr. Stefanski brings nearly 20 years of NBA executive-level basketball operations experience to Detroit after serving in lead management roles with Memphis (2014-18), Toronto (2011-13), Philadelphia (2007-11) and New Jersey (1998-2007). He most recently served as executive vice president for the Memphis Grizzlies. Previously, he helped transform the Nets into the team that won back-to-back Eastern Conference Championships in 2002 and 2003.

A 1976 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Mr. Stefanski played three seasons for the Penn basketball team, where he was coached by Chuck Daly, who later would lead the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back NBA championships, become the franchise’s all-time winningest head coach and be named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Mr. Stefanski was a member of two Ivy League Champions (1974 and 1975) and helped the Quakers reach the NCAA Tournament in both of those seasons. He was drafted by Philadelphia in the 10th round of the 1976 NBA Draft.

Stan Van Gundy out, Pistons will seek new president and head coach

The Detroit Pistons announced today that Stan Van Gundy will not return as the team’s President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach. The search process for new basketball leadership, including a new head of Basketball Operations and a new Head Coach, will start immediately.

“We have decided that this change is necessary to take our basketball organization to the next level,” said Pistons owner Tom Gores. “This was a very difficult decision and we did not come to it lightly. I am grateful to Stan for everything he’s done for the Pistons and for the City of Detroit. He rebuilt the culture of our basketball team, re-instilled a winning attitude and work ethic, and took us to the playoffs two years ago. He went all-in from day one to positively impact this franchise and this community.

“But over the past two seasons our team has not progressed, and we decided that a change is necessary to regain our momentum,” Mr. Gores said, emphasizing that Mr. Van Gundy, who has a year remaining on his contract, wanted to return.

“Stan is a competitor and he wanted to finish the job,” Mr. Gores said. “He retooled a roster that we think can be very competitive in the East. I know he’s disappointed, and that he cares deeply about his players, his staff, this organization and this city. He’s also a professional who will make sure this is a seamless transition, and someone I hope will be a friend and adviser to me long after this transition is completed.

“I have nothing but respect and love for Stan. I think he is a great coach and a great man, and his presence and leadership helped move this franchise forward,” Mr. Gores said. “Although we did not get the success both of us wanted, his efforts and leadership have put the franchise in better shape today than when he came on board.”

According to the Detroit News, “Van Gundy was one of the last remaining figures to hold both roles as team president and coach and although Gores said he saw value in that synergy, it was one of the things that made assessing them difficult. Van Gundy had one year remaining on his five-year deal worth $35 million.”

Van Gundy, who was named president of basketball operations and head coach on May 14, 2014, tallied a regular-season record of 152-176 (.463) in four seasons with the Pistons. He posted a 44-38 (.536) regular-season record in 2015-16 and led the club to its first postseason appearance since the 2008-09 season. As president of basketball operations, Van Gundy and general manager Jeff Bower initiated the re-signing of Andre Drummond, selected first round draft picks Stanley Johnson, Henry Ellenson and Luke Kennard and made notable trade acquisitions for Blake Griffin, Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris, Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley.

Fan reaction and discussion of this news is here

Will Pistons stick with Stan Van Gundy?

With a huge dual role as Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations, Stan Van Gundy runs the show in Detroit. Will the team take some of his responsibilities away? Part ways altogether? With the team’s lack of success in recent seasons, anything is possible. It’s worth keeping an eye on. Here’s Michigan Live reporting:

It has been a week since the Detroit Pistons season ended and there is no word yet on the fate of Stan Van Gundy, or whether he has met with owner Tom Gores.

Gores said during the April 9 home finale that he planned on meeting with Van Gundy this week, likely at the owner’s home in the Los Angeles area. Gores said changes need to be made after the team missed the playoffs for the third time in Van Gundy’s four seasons as coach and president of basketball operations but did not mention anything specific.

Van Gundy has one year remaining on his contract.

Three teams have fired coaches thus far – the New York Knicks (Jeff Hornacek), Orlando Magic (Frank Vogel) and Charlotte Hornets (Steve Clifford).

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